Narrator POV
The pain wasn't a dull ache; it was a structural failure of the mind.
It felt less like waking up and more like being reassembled, piece by jagged piece, by a craftsman who had lost the instructions. The boy on the bed gasped, his fingers clawing into the fine silk sheets, his chest heaving as if he had just surfaced from drowning in deep, freezing water.
He opened his eyes.
Wooden beams darkened by age. Intricate carvings of clouds and soaring hawks. The faint, sweet scent of burning sandalwood mixing with the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.
'This isn't my apartment.'
The thought was sharp, alien, yet it brought with it a cascade of memories that didn't belong to him. Or rather, they didn't belong to the person he was five minutes ago.
He remembered holding a smartphone. He remembered the sterile white light of a hospital room. He remembered reading the final chapter of a web novel, arguing on a forum about power scaling, and then… a truck? A heart attack? It was blurry, fading like a dream upon waking.
Then, the other memories slammed into him like a freight train.
Practicing the sword in the courtyard until his hands bled. The stern but loving face of a middle-aged man who carried the weight of a territory on his shoulders. The mocking laughter of rivals in the city square. The deep, aching emptiness where a mother should be.
"Mu Chen," he whispered, the name tasting familiar on his tongue. "I am Mu Chen."
He sat up, clutching his head. The disorientation was nauseating. He looked at his hands—pale, slender, but marked with the callouses of a practitioner. He closed his eyes and looked inward, guided by instinct he shouldn't have possessed—a legacy of the body's muscle memory.
Inside his abdomen, in the region known as the Aura Sea, a faint mist of energy swirled. It was weak. Pathetic, really. Spirit Movement Stage. The absolute bottom of the food chain in the Great Thousand World.
But floating within that mist was something else. A small, black, ominous pagoda.
The sight of it triggered a jolt of recognition that froze his blood.
'The Great Pagoda Art. The Mu Territory. The Northern Spiritual Realm.'
He wasn't just in a fantasy world. He was in The Great Ruler.
He swung his legs out of bed, his bare feet touching the cold wooden floor. He walked to the bronze mirror in the corner. The face staring back was handsome, delicate even, with a pair of eyes that held a spirited light—though right now, that light was frantic.
'I'm the protagonist,' he thought, touching his reflection. 'Which means I have a target on my back the size of a continent.'
He began to pace the room, his mind racing. He didn't have a Wikipedia page open in his brain. There was no "System" dinging to tell him the plot. Instead, it was an organic knowing. It felt like remembering a favorite book he had read years ago. The broad strokes were vivid, but the fine details were hazy until he focused on them.
'Right now, I'm fodder. The Spiritual Road selection is…' He paused, letting the memories surface naturally. 'Next month. I haven't been kicked out yet. I haven't met Luo Li. I haven't met the Nine Nether Bird.'
He stopped pacing. A cold sweat broke out on his back.
'The Nine Nether Bird. The Blood Calamity. In the original timeline, Mu Chen barely survived that bond. It was a suicide pact that turned into a partnership. And before that? The Liu Territory trying to wipe out my father.'
He needed an edge. If he was going to survive the plot—let alone change it to his benefit—he couldn't rely on the original Mu Chen's luck. Plot armor was a fickle thing when a transmigrator stepped on the butterfly.
'Focus. Every SI has a cheat. Where is mine?'
He sat down in a meditative pose, forcing his breathing to steady. He dove into his consciousness, bypassing the swirling Spirit Energy, bypassing the ominous black Pagoda that acted as a seal on his potential. He went deeper, searching for the anomaly that had brought him here.
He found it in the darkness behind his soul.
It wasn't a screen. It wasn't a voice.
It was a space.
His consciousness fell into it. Suddenly, he was standing in a grey void. It was small, claustrophobic even—roughly a cubic meter in volume, the size of a large travel backpack. The "walls" were undefined mist, but the boundary was solid, unyielding.
Mu Chen looked around the empty grey box. He waited for a guide. He waited for a golden finger to point the way.
Nothing. Just silence and grey mist.
'That's it?' he thought, a wave of bitter disappointment washing over him. 'A storage space? A mental inventory? This is my cheat? In a world where Mustard Seed Bracelets cost fifty spiritual coins?'
He pulled his consciousness back to the real world, opening his eyes with a scowl.
'This is useless. Unless I can smuggle contraband, this gives me zero combat advantage.'
He grabbed a half-eaten [Spirit Fruit] from his bedside table—a common snack that provided a tiny bit of nourishment, mostly sugar and trace energy.
'Absorb,' he commanded mentally, testing the function.
Whoosh.
The fruit vanished from his hand. He checked the grey space. There it was, floating in the void. As he focused on it, information bloomed in his mind—not as text on a screen, but as direct knowledge, like remembering a fact he had always known.
[Spirit Fruit (Bitten)]
Tier: 1 (Common)
Description: A low-grade fruit containing trace amounts of spiritual energy. Mostly sugar and water. Minimal cultivation value.
'Okay, so it identifies things. It gives me a tier based on the world's standard. Tier 1 corresponds to the Spirit Movement stage.'
Frustrated, he grabbed a small porcelain vial of [Spirit Liquid] from the table. It was the standard cultivation resource for the Mu Territory—Low Grade, full of impurities, basically flavored water with a hint of essence.
'Absorb.'
The vial vanished. He looked into the space again.
[Spirit Liquid]
Tier: 1 (Common - Low Grade)
Description: Impure spiritual water. 90% water, 10% essence. Long-term consumption leads to meridian clogging.
Now, two items floated in the small grey cube. The fruit and the vial.
And then, Mu Chen felt it.
It wasn't a text box. It was a sensation. A magnetic pull. As his consciousness focused on the two items floating in the void, he felt a strange, resonant hum connecting them. It was as if the space itself was whispering to him, telling him that these two things belonged together.
The grey mist shifted, swirling around the items.
The concept bloomed in his mind, not as words, but as an instinctual understanding.
[Fuse]
Mu Chen froze. The disappointment vanished, replaced by a sudden, electric realization.
'Fuse? Not just store... combine?'
He focused on that feeling. He pushed his will into the grey space, urging the two items together.
'Do it.'
The grey space shuddered. It was a visceral sensation, like a muscle cramping inside his brain. Inside the void, the porcelain vial shattered—not physically, but conceptually. The fruit disintegrated.
The red dust of the fruit and the green mist of the liquid swirled together. They clashed violently. He could feel the resistance—the "impurities" of the low-tier items fighting against the merger.
'Stabilize,' he commanded, instinctively pouring a sliver of his own spiritual energy into the mix to act as a binding agent.
The swirling energies compressed. Tighter. Hotter. Until—
Snap.
A single, glowing violet droplet formed, hovering in the grey silence.
[Violet Spirit Nectar]
Tier: 1 (Common - High Grade)
Description: Highly concentrated spiritual essence. Impurities burned away. Volatile but potent.
Mu Chen withdrew the item. It appeared in his palm, heavy and viscous like mercury. It didn't look like the watery Spirit Liquid anymore. It looked like liquid gemstone.
He brought it to his nose. The smell was potent, clearing his sinuses instantly.
'The impurities are gone,' he realized, his heart hammering against his ribs. 'The fusion process burned them away. I combined two pieces of trash and created something... better.'
He stared at the drop, and his imagination caught fire.
'If I can fuse a fruit and a liquid... what else? Can I fuse herbs to make pills without alchemy? Can I fuse broken swords to make a divine weapon? Can I fuse... cultivation techniques?'
A wild, predatory grin spread across his face.
'The Mu Territory is poor compared to the Great Clans. We have warehouses full of Low Grade herbs and failed pills. To everyone else, they're garbage. To me... they're raw materials.'
He didn't hesitate. In this world, power was the only currency that mattered.
He swallowed the violet drop.
BOOM.
It wasn't a gentle warmth. It was a landslide. The energy exploded in his stomach, tearing through his meridians like a wildfire.
"Ngh!" Mu Chen gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his knees.
'Unstable... means painful. Got it. No pain, no gain.'
He forced himself into the cultivation state, guiding the violent energy through the Great Pagoda Art's basic circulation routes. His meridians groaned under the pressure, stretching, tearing slightly, and then healing stronger. The aura sea in his dantian churned, the water level rising visibly.
Minutes passed. The pain subsided, replaced by a feeling of fullness.
Mu Chen exhaled a plume of white steam. He opened his eyes, and they shone with a terrifying clarity.
'One drop. That one drop gave me the equivalent of five days of hard penance. And that was just a Common Tier fruit and Low Grade liquid.'
He stood up, adjusting his robes. The cynical gamer was satisfied, but now, the actor had to take the stage.
"Smiling Tiger protocol active," he whispered to the empty room. "Time to go say hello to Father."
The Main Hall of the Mu Estate was imposing, lined with stone pillars that could withstand the strike of a Spirit Stage expert.
Mu Chen walked in, his stride confident but respectful. He bowed deeply to the man sitting at the head of the hall.
"Father."
Mu Feng looked up from a stack of scrolls. The Lord of the Mu Territory had a face weathered by battle, but his eyes softened instantly when they landed on his son.
"Chen'er," Mu Feng smiled, putting down his brush. "You look... different today. Sharper."
Mu Chen straightened, wearing a mask of perfect, humble filial piety. "I had a small breakthrough in my meditation, Father. I feel I am ready to condense the Spirit Wheel soon."
'Actually, I just chemically burned my insides with a home-brewed super-drug, but let's not worry about the details.'
"Excellent!" Mu Feng laughed, the sound booming off the walls. "The Spiritual Road selection is approaching. If you can enter the Spiritual Road, your future will be limitless. You might even... reach the level of the Five Great Academies."
Mu Feng's expression darkened slightly. "However, you must be careful. The Liu Territory has been aggressive lately. Liu Qingtian is scheming, and his son, Liu Mubai..."
"Brother Liu is a genius," Mu Chen interrupted gently, his voice dripping with admiration. "I hear he has already reached the Spiritual Rotation Stage. I have much to learn from him."
Mu Feng sighed, looking at his son with a mix of pride and worry. He appreciated the humility, but he feared it was a lack of spine. "Humility is good, Chen'er. But do not let them walk over you. Here."
He tossed a heavy pouch towards Mu Chen.
"Go to the Northern Spiritual City market. Buy resources. Whatever you need to prepare."
Mu Chen caught the pouch. It was heavy with Spiritual Coins.
"Thank you, Father. I won't let you down."
'I definitely won't,' Mu Chen thought, his inner voice cold as ice. 'I'm going to take this money, buy the deadliest trash I can find, and turn the Liu Territory into a graveyard.'
The Northern Spiritual City was a chaotic mess of sights and sounds. Cultivators haggled over beast bones, mercenaries boasted about their kills, and the air smelled of sweat, roasted meat, and metallic ozone.
Mu Chen moved through the crowd with a folding fan in his hand, looking every bit the idle Young Master. But his eyes were scanning everything, evaluating items not by their quality, but by their potential.
He stopped at a stall that looked like a garbage dump. It was piled high with withered herbs, rusted metal shards, and cracked beast cores.
"How much for the rusted iron?" Mu Chen asked, pointing to a pile of scrap metal that looked like it used to be daggers.
The merchant, a scar-faced man missing two fingers, squinted at him. "Young Master Mu? You lost? The weapon shop is uptown. That's scrap metal for melting down."
"I'm practicing a... unique tempering art," Mu Chen lied smoothly, flashing a bright, innocent smile. "I need base materials."
"Take the whole pile for five coins."
"Done. And throw in that basket of weeds."
"The [Rotting Bone Weeds]? Those are Common Tier poisons, barely strong enough to kill a rat."
"I have a rat problem," Mu Chen said, his smile not faltering. 'A very large, silver-robed rat problem.'
As he was completing the transaction, sweeping the junk into his storage bangle, the crowd suddenly parted. A hush fell over the street.
"Buying trash again, Mu Chen? I suppose it fits your aptitude."
Mu Chen turned slowly.
Standing there, flanked by guards, was Liu Mubai. The Young Master of the Liu Territory wore silver robes that shimmered with faint spiritual light. He was undeniably handsome, but the arrogance etched into his features ruined it.
Mu Chen didn't get angry. Instead, his face lit up with delight.
"Brother Liu!" Mu Chen took a step forward, bowing slightly. "What a coincidence! I was just thinking about how much I admire your cultivation speed. Spiritual Rotation Stage already? Truly the dragon among men!"
Liu Mubai sneered, clearly enjoying the praise but despising the source. "Save your flattery. The Spiritual Road isn't a place for bootlickers. Without your father's protection, you'll be dead within a week."
"Brother Liu is right," Mu Chen nodded vigorously. "I am weak and foolish. If we meet in the Road, I hope Brother Liu will show mercy to this little brother?"
'Keep talking. I'm analyzing your aura. Hmm... faint reddish tint in the sclera. Irregular breathing pattern despite the cultivation.'
Mu Chen's eyes sharpened imperceptibly.
'Fire Poison. You've been rushing your cultivation using the [Flame-Sun Pills], haven't you? Powerful, but it leaves a residue in the liver. You're a glass cannon, Mubai. One tap on the Ming-Men acupoint and you'll explode.'
"At least you know your place," Liu Mubai scoffed, losing interest. He brushed past Mu Chen, his shoulder deliberately checking Mu Chen's. "Don't get in my way."
Mu Chen stumbled back, looking frail and shaken. "Safe travels, Brother Liu!" he called out cheerfully.
As the Liu entourage disappeared, Mu Chen straightened up. The fear vanished from his face, replaced by a look of clinical detachment.
He turned back to the confused merchant.
"Do you have any [Ice-Heart Grass]? The withered kind is fine."
"Uh, yes. Why?"
"Ice-Heart Grass soothes Fire Poison," Mu Chen murmured, mostly to himself. 'But if I fuse it with the [Rotting Bone Weed] inside my space, the cold energy will mask the necrotic rot. It won't cure the poison; it will drive it straight into the heart meridian.'
He looked at the merchant with a grin that made the man shiver.
"I'll take it all. I feel inspired to do some gardening."
He continued his shopping spree, picking up anything that looked remotely useful for fusion. Just as he was about to leave, his gaze caught a pile of old books and papers on a corner mat.
His heart gave a strange thump.
'The Immortal Page.'
The memory was sharp. In the novel, this was the item that contained the Nine Nether Bird and the lead to the Primordial Immortal Body. It was tattered, stained, and looked completely unremarkable hidden beneath a stack of fake manuals.
But the Great Pagoda Art in his body was humming, confirming what he already knew.
'That's it,' Mu Chen thought, hiding his excitement.
His fingers twitched. He knew what was inside. A beast of apocalypse. A creature that could burn this entire city to ash. But it was also his ticket to the strongest Sovereign Body in the universe.
'In the canon, this bird is a walking disaster. If I break the seal now, with my current strength... I die. But if I leave it here, someone else might find it. Or worse, the Liu Territory might stumble upon it.'
"How much for the paper?"
"One coin for the stack."
"Sold."
He didn't touch it with his bare skin. He wrapped his hand in his sleeve, paid the coin, and immediately threw the black paper into his Origin Forge.
He focused on the item in the grey space.
[Sealed Immortal Page]
Tier: 9 (Divine Object)
Description: An ancient page originating from the Primordial Immortal Body. Currently seals the spirit of a Nine Nether Bird. The seal is degraded but stable.
Mu Chen's breath hitched. Tier 9. A Divine Object. The appraisal confirmed it instantly. There was no question marks, no vagueness. His ability saw right through the disguise.
'Message received,' Mu Chen thought, feeling the ominous heat radiating from the item even inside his mental space. 'You stay there, birdie. I'll deal with you when I'm not an appetizer.'
Night fell over the Mu Estate.
Mu Chen sat on his bed, the door locked and reinforced with a heavy dresser. He emptied his storage bangle onto the floor. It looked like a pile of garbage to the untrained eye. To him, it looked like an arsenal.
"Time to cook," he whispered.
He entered the Origin Forge.
First, defense. He was going to the Spiritual Road, a place where spiritual energy was sealed. Physical lethality was king there.
He mentally grabbed ten [Rusted Iron Daggers] and tossed them into the grey void. They were Common Tier junk, brittle and dull.
[Rusted Iron Dagger x10]
Tier: 1 (Common)
Description: Oxidized metal. Brittle. 15% chance to break on impact.
'Fuse.'
He pushed the concept. The metal screamed as it was crushed together. The grey space vibrated, taxing his mind. He visualized the impurities—the rust, the weak iron—being purged, leaving only the dense core.
Flash.
A lump of grey, heavy steel floated in the void.
'Add the [Fang of the Iron-Back Wolf].'
[Fang of the Iron-Back Wolf]
Tier: 1 (Common)
Description: Sharp but mundane beast bone. Good hardness.
The beast bone merged with the steel, adding a savage sharpness to the structure.
'Now... the special ingredient.'
He added the [Rotting Bone Weed].
[Rotting Bone Weed]
Tier: 1 (Common)
Description: A weak poison that causes necrosis over time.
This was the tricky part. Fusing poison into metal. He could feel the rejection. The organic poison didn't want to bond with the cold steel.
'Stabilize!'
Mu Chen poured his will into the Forge. He forced the green poison mist into the molecular structure of the steel, locking it in.
Hummmm.
The vibration stopped.
A single dagger floated in the void. It was matte black, light-absorbent, with a serrated edge that looked like a row of shark teeth. A faint, sickly green vapor clung to the blade.
[Venom-Fang Dagger]
Tier: 1 (Peak Common)
Description: Armor Piercing. Necrotic Rot. Wounds inflicted will not clot.
He didn't need a system to tell him how dangerous it was. He could feel its nature. It was a weapon designed for murder, not sparring.
"Beautiful," Mu Chen extracted the weapon, testing its balance. It felt wicked in his hand.
He set the dagger down and looked at the remaining pile of trash. He had some [Low Grade Spirit Papers] and a generic [Wind Steps] movement technique manual he had bought for cheap.
A dangerous thought crossed his mind.
'I fused materials. I fused poison and metal. Can I fuse... knowledge?'
He picked up the [Wind Steps Manual]—a Common Tier movement art. Then he picked up a [Rock Fist Manual]—a Common Tier attack art.
[Wind Steps Manual]
Tier: 1 (Common)
Description: Basic movement technique. Increases agility by 10%.
[Rock Fist Manual]
Tier: 1 (Common)
Description: Basic offensive technique. Hardens the fist for impact.
'In the Spiritual Road, I can't use spiritual energy. But I can use body techniques. If I fuse the explosiveness of the Rock Fist into the footwork of the Wind Steps...'
He threw both manuals into the Forge.
The grey space accepted them. They dissolved into streams of information—diagrams of meridian flows, foot placements, muscle contractions.
'Fuse.'
The space didn't just vibrate this time. It shook. A deep, ominous groan echoed through the void.
The two concepts were fundamentally opposed. One was about being light and fluid; the other was about being heavy and rigid.
'Force it!' Mu Chen gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his face in the real world. 'I don't want balance! I want explosive speed! Fuse the impact into the step!'
The grey mist swirled violently, turning a dark, turbulent grey. The pressure on his mind increased tenfold. He felt blood trickle from his nose.
CRACK.
A sound like thunder erupted inside his head.
The turbulence collapsed.
Hovering in the void was a single, new concept. It wasn't a manual anymore. It was a ball of chaotic, grey energy.
Mu Chen reached out with his mind to touch it.
Immediate feedback slammed into his brain.
[Seismic Step]
Tier: 2 (Spiritual)
Description: Explosive propulsion. Detonates spiritual energy underfoot to launch the user. High recoil. Repeated use may fracture tibia.
Mu Chen opened his eyes, gasping for air. He wiped the blood from his nose and looked at his legs.
"Explosive propulsion," he muttered, a grin tugging at his lips despite the headache. "It will probably shatter my shins if I use it too much. But in a life or death fight... nobody expects the speedster to act like a cannonball."
The Next Morning.
The Mu Estate was buzzing with activity. Drums were beating in the distance, echoing off the mountains of the Northern Spiritual Realm. Today was the day.
The Spiritual Road Selection.
Mu Chen stood in the courtyard, dressed in a simple blue outfit. He looked refreshed, calm, and utterly harmless. The [Venom-Fang Dagger] was tucked into his sleeve, hidden. The knowledge of the [Seismic Step] was burned into his muscles. The [Sealed Immortal Page] was safely locked in his Forge.
"Young Master," a guard approached. "The Lord is waiting. The envoys from the Five Great Academies have arrived."
Mu Chen smiled. "Thank you. I'm coming."
He walked towards the gates. As he passed the main training ground, he saw a familiar figure.
Liu Mubai.
The young genius of the Liu Territory was surrounded by admirers, looking like a god among mortals. He spotted Mu Chen and smirked, making a cutting motion across his throat.
Mu Chen didn't flinch. He didn't look away.
Instead, he offered a small, polite bow.
But as he straightened up, for a fraction of a second, the mask slipped. His eyes went dead. His smile became a baring of teeth. He mouthed two words that only Liu Mubai could see.
"You're mine."
Liu Mubai blinked, startled by the sudden shift. But by the time he looked again, Mu Chen was already walking away, chatting cheerfully with the guard.
Mu Chen stepped out of the gates, the sun hitting his face.
The prologue was over. The story was about to begin. And this time, the script was going to be rewritten in blood.